Canadian spy agency’s frat house atmosphere revealed in new report - sexism, racism, swearing and booze

A scathing review of the Toronto office of Canada’s spy agency has painted a picture of a dysfunctional organization that is more akin to a frat house than a government’s intelligence-gathering agency.

According to the article by Jim Bronskill of the Canadian Press, the assessment found leadership skills “wanting” and employees facing reprisals for speaking out. Here is more from the CP story:

Employees who had served in the region more than two years referred to the past as an “old boys club” with behaviour that included yelling, swearing, and misogynistic and offensive comments about employees, including from managers;

Weekly drinking by “the in-group” in the office or at the pub where decisions — often staffing decisions — were made;

Lingering pockets in the office where jokes and discriminatory comments were still being made about ethnicity and the communities being monitored, as well as some bias against women;

Some employees seemed intolerant and judgmental towards their colleagues, and managers “do nothing to stop the character assassination and back stabbing that occurs.”

CSIS director David Vigneault responded with shock and the following statement: “As I have stated previously, CSIS does not tolerate harassment, discrimination, or bullying under any circumstances.”

But obviously that statement isn’t accurate. Vigneault is relatively new in the job but CSIS and its managers have tolerated harassment, discrimination and bullying.

A number of intelligence officers in the Toronto office came forward years ago to complain about this type of behavior and they were ignored. CSIS managers just denied there was a problem.

So, earlier this year, five intelligence officers and analysts filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court claiming that they were bullied and harassed while working at the spy agency.

What type of harassment? One manager in the Toronto office sent the following email to an intelligence officer who is gay and has a Muslim partner: “Careful your Muslim in-laws don’t behead you in your sleep for being homo.”

And what was the federal government’s response to the lawsuit?

The Department of Justice (which reports to Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould) has been accused of dragging its heels on the lawsuit.

As Michelle Shephard of the Toronto Star reported Wednesday, federal judge Simon Noel slammed the Canadian government for not responding faster to the lawsuit. “You can’t act as if the Court is not there,” Justice Noël told Department of Justice lawyers during a September teleconference call about the case.

“(T)here is a course of action to be followed and you are no different from any other parties in Canada,” Noël told the Justice lawyers in regard to the government’s delay in filing a statement of defence to the lawsuit. “It is not because you are the Attorney General of Canada that you can act as if the Rules do not apply. This is not acceptable.”

What will happen?

Likely not much. The report found that CSIS managers as well as staff in the Toronto office engaged in the dubious conduct.

If the rot is that pervasive it would require gutting part of CSIS management and no bureaucratic organization would want that or would allow that.